


The Hunt Begins

by LyraSaber



Series: Ramikadyc [1]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game), Star Wars: The Old Republic, swtor - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Hutta, beginning of the storyline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-07-12 07:31:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19942480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyraSaber/pseuds/LyraSaber
Summary: Natamai  is a bounty hunter with a decent enough life, but a chance at the Great Hunt is too good to pass up. Now She just has to get into the game.





	1. An Intriguing Offer

**Author's Note:**

> I mark all none basic language "[[word in other language]]", if anyone has better suggestions feel free to let me know.

Natamai wrinkled her nose as she stepped off the shuttle, why did all her jobs take her to such nasty places. Hutta smelled like shit, then again so did anywhere there were Hutts, but Hutta had to smell the worst. She was going to assume the gunk she was forced to walk through was mud, it was simply terrible smelling mud. Jiguuna was a shithole, probably literally. A disgusting town, ran by a probably equally disgusting hutt. She wondered what in the galaxy could be so big that Braden had asked her here on such short notice.

She was in a foul mood as she trudged through the muck of this disgusting planet. She really hated Hutts. She passed various individuals, vendors, smugglers and other bounty hunters, even a few who’d cornered their targets. One of the targets, some alien she didn’t bother to get a good look at, shoved her as he ran past. She was in no mood and shot an electrodart into the guys back, shocking him to the ground long enough for the hunters after him to pick him up. She rolled her eyes, ‘kriffing banthashit hunters who can’t do their own kriffing jobs’.

She turned towards the lights and music and quickly found her way to a third rate cantina, what seemed to be the only one in this shithole of a town.  
Natamai paused and pulled out her datapad and checked Braden’s message again. This was the right place, unfortunately. Hopefully, she could get this business wrapped up soon and get back to the more civilized parts of space. She groaned internally, keeping a careful mask in place, this was hutt territory, not a good place to let your guard down, and strod into the cantina, heading past the bar and towards the rooms in the back, following the directions that Braden had sent.

She stepped into the room and looked around quickly, noticing crates of weapons and ammo and supplies. A large Nikto sat at a table off to the side of the room, tinkering with a blaster. Several others sat alongside various parts and a large bottle of blaster oil.

A younger dark haired human girl stood near one of the large data stations typing away while Braden paced. Mako, he called her, this tiny wisp of a girl must be his daughter. He’d mentioned her more than once during their chats, adopted her a few years back if she recalled correctly. Some kind of slicer? Seemed to be setting up security systems.

“Sure thing, Braden. We’ll be– Hey now.” She smiled over towards Natamai and she tried to get a read on the girl. She trusted Braden, mostly, well as much as she trusted anyone she met through work and she was his daughter so a point for her, and the girl didn’t seem to have any reaction to her not being human, so either informed, doesn’t care, or both, enough to work with until she knew what they were working on.

Braden turned to her and she could swear he was almost smiling. “Hey indeed, the main attraction is here. Team, this is Natamai Shabre, the girl we’re pinning all our hopes on.” ok what are you up to Braden, what do you have planned? She thought as she shook his hand and tried to act like she knew exactly what was going on. She wasn’t going to let new people see her at anything less than her best and most confident, even if she was still a bit confused and irritated about why she was on this backwater rock.

Braden rocked back and put his hands on his hips, nodding sharply just once, he might as well be grinning, she started to get damned curious and a bit excited and hoped he was getting to the point. “Best shot I’ve ever seen and nerves of steel. She’s great hunt material, alright.” The Great Hunt. Seriously. She’d heard that it was gearing up, Bounty Hunters all over Nar Shaddaa had been whispering about it for awhile. The Mandalorians all seemed especially excited about it. But their people sponsored the thing, so that was expected. But why the hell hadn’t Braden included that in the message. He’d wanted to tell her in front of the team. Testing her somehow or something. She’d worry about it later, they’d have a long talk about it, deliberately withholding information was something she detested in people she worked with, even temporarily. “What do you say, Shabre? You ready to meet your team?” Ok, maybe just this once she’ll roll with it. Braden had been good to work with before, she’d cut him just a little slack, Great Hunt and all.

She let herself smile and the thrill of what could be the best hunt she’d ever been on spread. This was going to be awesome. “My team… I like the sound of that.” She hadn’t worked with a good team in ages. Reputation was everything in their line of work and Braden’s reputation said he worked with good people, well people that were good at their jobs, the morality of their profession was all relative.

“Get used to the idea. To win the Great Hunt, you’ll need support, structure and intel.” He stepped over to the data consul. “Let’s do things official-like. This is Mako, a little genius I picked up years ago on Nar Shaddaa. She provides intel and tech.” He actually smiled as he talked, clearly as proud of her as if she was his own.

Mako smiled fondly back at him before glancing over to Natamai slightly cautious “Hope you’re as good as the old man say”

“Oh, I’m even better!” She grinned at the girl. Caution around a new variable to the established group, a good survival trait.

“And the big bruiser is Jory” Braden leaned a little more of the consul and gestured to the Nikto, who’d put down the blaster he’d been tinkering with. “He handles the heavy lifting and provides security for our base of operations.”

He spoke in clear Huttese, _“[[Greetings. I am at your disposal. Feel free to make us all incredibly wealthy and famous.]]”_

She actually had to let out a laugh at that. “Don’t you worry, big guy, I plan to.” She was still excited, but pulled herself together enough to appear at least a little professional. “Nice to meet you both. Let’s get to work.”

Braden clearly agreed with her and dived into his breakdown of the Great Hunt and the next steps for getting into it. “Little Mako is the most rabid fan of Hunter history this side of Geonosis. What she doesn’t know about the great hunt isn’t worth knowing.”

“I also know the names of every great hunt winner: Bloodworthy, the Defenestrator, Jewl’a Nightbringer” She hadn’t thought it was possible for Braden to look more proud of the kid but she’d been wrong.

“Every bounty hunter who’s won a great hunt went on to massive glory and riches. - Which is why we’re here.”

Nat grinned, “So we shoot shit, kick ass, split the riches and you take the glory. I can work with that.”

Jory laughed outright at that. _[[“This girl understands the way the galaxy works”]]_ Nat was going to like this guy. He seemed the type she got along with, in it for the money and willing to do the work. A true professional.

“What’s our first move?” she asked, Braden had always been the man with a plan in the time she’d known him. He’d have come up with a strategy or he wouldn’t have called.

Mako answered first. “Here’s what I know so far. The Great Hunt has two parts: The Mandalorian elite and freelance bounty hunters sponsored by influential crime lords. There’s no time to make you a Mandalorian. That means you need a sponsor.” She nodded, becoming Mandalorian was more difficult than just making people think you were one so a sponsor made sense. Also explained why they were here, to do some work and get the attention of whatever sponsor Braden had in mind. Probably a Hutt. Blagh.

“Nem’ro the Hutt runs this stinking little town. I’ve got just enough pull with that gangster to get you an introduction.” Yep, working for a Hutt. She always hated that, but they paid well for as awful as they were. She’d done it before, she could do it again, it’d take her bigger places than ever this time, it’d be worth it. At least there was a reason that they were meeting here instead of Nar Shaddaa. “Mako, scan for every bounty in the area. I want the nastiest, most brutal, untouchable scum you can find.”

“I’m on it, one nasty character coming up…” The girl started typing away. Nat finally noticed her implant, how had she missed that? She’d need to be more observant or they were spaced. She crossed her arms and shifted her weight, waiting for the rest of the plan.

“First we need to get you situated as a big time hunter, at least as far as the locals know. Then we contact Nem’ro.” That got him a scowl. Ok, so she might not have the clout just yet for the biggest bounties, but she wasn’t exactly unknown. She made a more than comfortable living the last few years off her work. She was even able to buy her own apartment, she had contacts and pull of her own, hell, there were a lot of areas on Nar Shaddaa she could walk safely ‘cause she was so established only idiots wanted to mess with her. The other areas were full of idiots. It wasn’t like she was an unknown rookie, she was just young.

Braden continued on to describe how they were going to plant rumors about her exploits and build a bigger reputation for her offworld while she established herself on the planet. She didn’t like the idea that everything she’d built wasn’t enough, but for now, she’d go along with it. And she had to admit, Mako seemed impressive, almost enough to justify how proud Braden was off the kid.

“You find a target, I’ll take it down hard.” There was no way she was letting her doubts or irritation stop her from making some money and certainly no way she was missing out on the Great Hunt, she’d do the job and add it to the list of things to sort out later.

Mako popped up. It’d only been a minute or so, but the girl already found something. “Check this out…Vexx, Correlian, champion quick-draw artist, wanted for robbing 15 imperial military pay stations”

Nat had to let out a low whistle at that. The man had guts… or no brain, one of those.

Jory echoed the thoughts of everyone in the room _“[[Of all places to get credits, why would any sane being rob an Imperial pay station?]]”_

She snorted “Got that right, big guy”

Braden seemed satisfied. The guy almost never even smiled, except apparently when it came to his kid. “This Vexx is either a madman or a glory hound–and he’s obviously dangerous.” According to the information Mako started feeding her, she was headed right into the gang war she’d seen on her way to the cantina. It wasn’t like this would be her first gang war she’d found her way through, but it was always irritating. They slowed her down, and gang wars were messy, at least in her experience. There would be plenty to shoot though and that was always fun, she could give her new flamethrower a good test run before she got there.

It was finally time to go to work. She rolled her shoulders, fingers already twitching towards her blaster. “Excuse me, I have a safe house to shoot up.”

She nodded to Braden and Jory, and turned to head out. “Be safe out there.” she heard Braden call after her.

She spun back towards them and sent her most mischievous grin at him while taking a few steps backwards. “Now where would be the fun in that.” she spun around out the door and headed back to the street.


	2. Friends Lost and Enemies Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natamai chases her entry into the Great Hunt and finds a rival and an ally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All non basic speech is marked as usual" [[non basic phrase in italics]]"  
> minor character death

The streets got even more chaotic as she moved through the town. Gangsters. None of them had any discipline or strategy in their fighting, but that’s why they were gangsters, not mercenaries. At least it made it more entertaining than just walking and after hours on that damned shuttle she’d really needed to stretch her legs. Honestly though, gangsters were gangsters and she’d love a bigger challenge. She’d been bored and itchy lately. Even her high paying jobs on Nar Shaddaa didn’t seem to be giving her what she needed anymore. She craved more, more money, more fun, more challenging hunts, than what she was dealing with. It was part of why she’d agreed to this crazy idea to get a relative newbie into the Great Hunt. If nothing else, she hoped it would help her find whatever it was she was missing. Running through gang wars on Hutta was fun at least, she actually enjoyed it more than she’d thought, maybe it was the fighting, maybe it was that she got to hurt hutts, indirectly, but still, didn’t matter, she was having fun. 

She quickly ducked into the safehouse, which was naturally empty. She snatched up a forgotten datapad, hoping it would have some clues and waded back through the mess that was Jiguna streets. Nat swung through the cantina on the way back into the back rooms, and checked their menu. She’d grab some food after she’d dropped the datapad with Mako. She could crack it herself, probably, but a slicer could do it faster and with less hassle. That’s what the support team was for anyways, doing the support stuff while she handled the actual fighting and killing part of hunting.

She got back to their base in time to hear the tail end of a conversation. Apparently, little Mako wasn’t quite so content at her console as she had appeared. Not that she blamed her, she’d probably go mad if expected to stay in a room all day watching other people do things instead of actually doing things herself. She walked over to them and Mako noticed her. “Hey, look who’s back! How’d it go out there, girl? You find anything?”

She grinned at her. “I found out I like killing gangsters a lot more than I thought I did.” 

_ “[[You’ll have no trouble indulging that passion on this world.]]” _ Jory spoke up from the side of the room where he was leaning against the wall. This really was a crew she could get along with. If they could actually manage to negotiate her way into the hunt. Hutts were backstabbers, notoriously so. There was always a chance that Nem’ro would go back on any arrangements made up until she was actually accepted into the hunt by the mandalorians. Until then, they were far from the worst she’d been around, she actually liked this group. 

She pulled her attention back to the moment in time to hear the last half of whatever Mako was saying “...the only thing you’ve got? Let’s have a look.” She handed over the datapad and stepped over to get a drink while she waited. 

There were definitely perks working with a crew, not having to handle the slicing herself was one of them. Mako started tapping away, doing her things and Jory had moved back to his workbench and whatever project he was working on.  _ “[[You show much natural skill. I’m honored to join you on the great hunt.]]” _

She grinned and lifted her drink. “Pleasure’s all mine, big guy.” She finished her drink and pulled out her blaster. Checking her ammo and making sure that it was still good. She hated waiting, so even a few minutes of downtime on a job was time for weapon and armor maintenance. Her first Mentors Lare and Acoma had taught her that. Bored hunters are bad hunters. If you have a moment to breathe, it’s time to check your gear, otherwise you end up dead. 

Braden choose that moment to arrive back from whatever it was that he’d been up to. Apparently, she still had to do some leg work before he’d be able to get her a meeting. This was why she hated hutts, so much work, and not fun work either, criminal politics, which were almost as bad as regular politics. ’Ugh, just give me a straight fight any day. I’ll take that over wooing hutts.’ At least Mako was quick at her work. She handed the datapad over to Braden, with a quick comment on how she’d cracked the encryption in what was apparently record time for her. Either she liked to brag about how good she was (nothing wrong with that) or she really wanted Braden to notice and be proud of her, one of the two, didn’t matter, long as the job was done. 

Braden went over the data quickly and turned to her. “Our boy Vexx keeps detailed records. There’s a receipt here for a shuttle ticket he bought today. We’ll have to move fast.” She nodded and quickly straightened, tucking her blaster back in its holster and running a quick check on her flamethrower while listening to the rest of what he’d learned. He took a breath and she could feel it, this one was a step. She took out this guy and everything else was a game. “Only the boldest make it into the Great Hunt and Vexx is a bold target. He’s a champion gunslinger. Completely ruthless. What do you say Shabre? You ready to take down Vexx all by yourself?”

“I’ve some practice with gunslingers. I’m always ready.” She stretched and rested her hands on her hips. This was it, step one of operation ‘become the baddest bitch in the bounty hunting scene’, eh, she’d work on it. 

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. If you head out now, you can catch Vexx at the shuttle port before he escapes. Bring back Vexx’s ID tags as proof you’re the one who got him.” 

“Got it.”

_ “[[Good luck, hunter. Speed and accuracy be yours. We are all depending on you.]]” _

“I’ll be back before ya know it.” She gave a quick wave and jogged out of the room. 

After managing a few small jobs on the way to the shuttle port, she made her way through the port to the shuttle bay on the receipt. She ran up the ramp and caught him at the door to the shuttle, and hated him as soon as he opened his excessively arrogant mouth. “What’s this? A lawman of sorts? Never thought I’d see the day dashing Vexx was cornered by an ugly alien brute.” 

Ugh, an alien prejudice, really? She’d be glad to kill this idiot; and ugly?! sure she had a few scars, mostly the one across her face, but still did he have to rub it in. He was supposedly Correllian, wasn’t Corellia supposed to be part of the ‘we don’t hate aliens’ Republic? Just another example of their hypocrisy. “I’m not sure dashing is the word you’re looking for.” 

“Ah, but I know something you don’t. Vexx is not your ordinary run-of-the-mill thug. Oh, no. Vexx is the galaxy’s greatest quick-draw artist. Vexx can shoot your ears off so fast you won’t even hear yourself scream.” Really, this guy thought he was the fastest gun, really? She knew faster guns, she would bet on it, hell she was a faster gun. 

“Show me.” They both went for their blasters, but just like she knew she could, she pulls hers first and fires straight into his chest. He drops and she walks over, firing another shot, just to be sure, no sense in letting him suffer if that first shot had only mostly killed him. She snatched the ID tags and headed back to the Cantina with a bit more excited energy then she’d had on the way to the shuttle port. Step one complete, now it was Game On. 

Entering the Cantina she wrapped up her other business quickly and made her way to the back room. She rounded the corner, took two steps in and stopped dead, staring in shock. For a few heartbeats, she simply stared at the bodies on the ground before quickly moving and checking them. It was no use, they were already gone. Both Braden and Jory, gone, here where they should have been safe. It wasn’t like she hadn’t lost people before, but it was usually in the field, not the safehouse. There is no place that’s safe. She shouldn’t have forgotten that, she’d let her guard down when she should have been more aware of the potential threats. But who and why? An old enemy? A rivel who’d only just now tracked them down? Something to do with the Great Hunt? How did this happen? She started looking around, but there wasn't sign of much of a fight. Whatever had happened here had been really quick. And where was Mako? Her body wasn’t in the room, so where was she? She needed answers and she’d rip them from this room somehow. 

Moments after she stepped into the room, she heard approaching footsteps and Mako’s voice calling out before she rounded the corner into the room. “Hey old-timers, I’m…” She heard the crack in the poor girls voice as she took in the sight. “Jory! Braden!” she ran over and stood staring “What happened? Is the old man…?”

Natamai felt for her, she really did. She could still remember how it felt to lose family. She placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. They’re gone. Somebody is going to pay for this, I promise you that.” She meant it, Braden may have been Mako's father, but he was also Nats friend, and while she hadn’t known Jory long, he died working for her. That meant vengeance. Their lives had to be paid for in blood. Whoever killed them would pay that price, alongside anyone who stood between them, she would personally ensure that. No one killed her friends and walked away. Not anymore. 

“No. The old man’s really dead? But he...oh... damn it!” She stood quietly as Mako fell to her knees next to Braden, tears falling down her cheeks as she swirled through the spectrum of emotions and the knowledge he was truly gone started to sneak in. After a few minutes her sobs quieted and she stood, the sorrow turning to fury as she took a step away from the bodies. “Wait, you had something to do with this.”

Natamai had to roll her eyes at that. Sure she killed professionally and the girl was a wreck, but seriously, she wasn’t a gangster. She wouldn’t kill her own people; certainly not in the middle of a job. “Think for a minute girl, If I did, then you would be dead too. I’m not that sloppy.” really, if you wiped out a crew, you wiped out the whole crew, you didn’t leave random witnesses to go and blab about it. Mako probably didn’t have much experience with this kind of grief. 

Luckily, Mako wasn’t stupid and sense took over again. Her shoulders slumped as the grief threatened to overwhelm her again. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. It’s just… I’ve been with Braden for years. I- I know you didn’t have any reason to hurt him. I just can’t believe he’s dead.” Her voice trembled and a few more tears escaped. 

Nat sighed and stepped over to place a hand on her shoulder. “It’s never easy seeing friends die, Mako. It’s harder when they’re family.” 

She took a few trembling breaths steadying herself, and her shoulders straightened. “ I just never imagined… But I can handle this. I can. Jory and I set up surveillance all over this room. Whatever happened here should’ve been recorded.” Nat had to admit she was impressed at how Mako had pulled herself together. Sure, the girl would probably break down again later when they took time to rest. But focusing on work while there was work to be done was a good skill. She had some durasteel in her, that was for sure. “Fire up that monitor. Let’s figure out who did this!” 

They stepped over to the holo projector and after a bit of fidgeting with the tampered recording, Mako managed to begin the playback. It didn’t take long for Nat to recognize the armor that the intruders wore. There were plenty of Mandalorian bounty hunters on Nar Shaddaa and they all wore a similar armor, something cultural about the style and material. These two were Mandalorians and apparently very upset that Braden was trying to get someone into the Great Hunt. Though, it seemed like they didn’t really know much about them, at least not enough to be this focused on taking her out. There had to be other hunters, so why he was bothering with a hunter who was still pretty early in her career. It didn’t matter because the coward ‘Tarro Blood’, which was a stupid name, had decided to try and stop her by killing Braden and Jory. He didn’t have the guts to do it himself though, going outside and leaving it to his lackey. He’d shot them before they could even draw their weapons. They’d have killed Mako if she’d been here. Nat could see that clearly. Mako survived by going out on errands and lost her father because of it. She had to admit Braden stayed remarkably calm through the whole confrontation, she could see how Mako was drawing on that example of composure, had to be hard on her, watching Braden and Jory die, but she handled it well, a few tears, but keeping it together for now at least. Tarro Blood had made a habit of killing the crews of hunters he thought could possibly rival his skill in order to ensure his own victory. Seriously, he was the worst kind of coward, running away from fights and not even doing his own dirty work. 

“That scum! He didn’t even have the guts to kill them himself. He had his lackeys do it, the coward!” Mako was furious, this was good. Anger was better than tears. Anger you could work with, you could turn it into fuel to keep going. Grief, tears, fear, they shut you down, slow your thoughts, give you an excuse to not make a decision, better to be angry. “The big-shot running the show claimed he was Tarro Blood. He’s a big shot, even for a Mandalorian.” Nat had to doubt that, somehow he didn’t seem like the type to get respect for people who lived for war, but she was probably biased. Mako was going over the information they’d gotten, probably trying to sort through it in her own head. “... Rumor says everyone united against him when he tried the Great Hunt.” 

“He’s a coward alright, couldn’t win fair so this time he’s stacking the deck in his favor.” They talked for a few more minutes, and it became clear that Mako was out for blood, so to speak. 

“If Blood’s determined to win the Great Hunt, our best bet of catching up to him is getting you into that competition.”

“I’m here to win the Great Hunt, that hasn’t changed.” She wasn’t going to let one mando scare her off. She’d faced off against more than that before and she’d been much younger and less dangerous. Mako sighed and Nat could almost see the gears spinning in her mind, evaluating the situation, potential problems and solutions. This was her test. Nat had proved herself as a good hunter, now Mako had to prove herself capable. Otherwise she wouldn’t be able to trust her and that could cause problems for her hunts. If she was going to win this, it would take everything she had and she couldn’t waste her time with girls who could only keep up when they had someone holding their hand. She had to know if Mako could handle it and if she was smart enough to keep around, regardless of her desire for vengeance. When you hunt with someone, you place your life in their hands and you must know that they’ll hold that valuable through the fight. 

“Braden spent all of our credits getting us here. We’re stuck on this stupid planet. Nem’ro the Hutt is the only boss with enough clout to sponsor you in the Great Hunt. We need him more than ever.” She’d come up with a plan to deal with the situation based on what she knew quickly. Nat wondered if it would match up with the plan she’d come up with. Admittedly hers was simple: take out Fath’ra street bosses to get an audience, kill whatever shit Nem’ro wanted her to kill to prove she could handle the Hunt, force him to hand over the damn sponsorship, or send the message, however it worked, then march her pretty green ass to wherever she needed to go to start the competition. “If nobody knows Braden is...is dead.” Mako paused and swallowed hard, her implant twitching over her eye. “I should be able to get you a meeting with Nem’ro. I’ve made appointments for him before, I can work it, but this will take every favor I can call in. And I’ll need the tags from your bounty --should be enough for two burials…” 

That was true. They couldn’t just leave the bodies out like they were. They deserved better. “I didn’t know them well, but I’d still like to pay my respects. They were good people.”

“No time. You’ve got to get to Nem’ro’s fast. We can’t risk another hunter intercepting that sponsorship. Braden would understand --and Jory would insist. I did everything I could to build your reputation, but now you’ll have to make an even bigger impression. Nem’ro’s enemies are all over town, take out some leaders before you visit the palace and you’ll score points with the Hutt.”

Natamai nodded, solid strategy, almost the same as hers, but more refined at least in the words used. It was still kill street bosses, get on Nem’ro’s good side, get the kriffing sponsorship, get off this kriffing disgusting, force-damned planet. “You got it, kid. You do your part, I’ll take care of mine. See you on the other side of this thing.” she grabbed her blasters from where she’d set them down while looking at the recording, scooped up a bottle of something strong, tucking it into her pack, just in case, and headed out, pausing to look over her shoulder. “Don’t get yourself shot out there. Be careful, keep your blaster in hand.” She headed out into the streets again. Time to get to work and she did love her job. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. any feedback is appreciated, comments and kudos feed the muse


	3. Unpleasant Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natamai has to try and persuade Nem'ro to sponsor her, while trying to help Mako through her loss, or at least trying to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken this long to update. I'm just having trouble writing lately. So while I will continue this, updates might be a bit slow.

Jiguna may have been a disgusting shithole, but Nem’ro kept a surprisingly clean palace. It pissed her off. Hutts were as bad as Sith. where the sith were deliberately cruel, it was mostly easy enough to work for them, do your job right and they’d pay you and off you went. The Hutts though, they were gross and stingy and their cruelty wasn’t driven by strength or a belief system based around the force, but simple greed. They were greedy to a disgusting extreme and would lie, cheat, backstab and stomp all over everything they could in that greed. She hated working for them, but bounty hunters couldn’t be picky about their clients and desperate bounty hunters who only have one option to get what they need have no options. At least she’d get a brief respite from the smells, or at least the strength of the smells. She trudged in and headed through the winding hall. The center of the palace was a large, crowded Cantina. She had to smile at that. No matter where you went, there was a similarity to Cantinas. Music, drinks and food, and Hutt Cantina’s like this one reminded her of Nar Shaddaa. She made her way carefully through the crowds of thugs, criminals, and bragging bounty hunters who somehow thought that they could make it big by working on Hutta. As if this was where anyone with a big bounty would hide. 

She briefly thought of firing a few shots in the air or just above the crowd to clear a path. But better not, she needed the sponsorship first. As she entered the main room, oh, who was she trying to kid, it was a kriffing throne room. The Hutts felt themselves royalty and in some ways, you could argue that they were. The throne room was also full of people, but she ignored everyone and simply walked forward to talk to Nem’ro as soon as she was waved forward. Of course the Houk that stood next to him, probably a bodyguard of some kind, but possibly an advisor based on how freely he talked, made her want to shoot him as soon as he opened his mouth. “Little woman” “beg”, that patronizing tone, she should shoot him dead where he stood for such insults, or at least break his face. 

S he took a deep breath and grit her teeth, and glared at him.  _ ‘The Great Hunt, remember the Great Hunt. Don’t piss off the Hutt yet, wait until you’re done here. Grin and bear it, just a bit longer _ ’ Taking a second breath to control the fury in her voice, she stepped up to the bottom of the pedestal that Nem’ro was on, while he reprimanded his minion, because she’d killed Fath’ra’s people. Hutt’s were awful, but easy to play to, most of the time. Nem’ro was polite to her, but only because she had done him a service. She brushed off his polite greetings, preferring not to linger. “We’ve got the pleasantries out of the way, Let’s talk business.” Both her and her sister had learned long ago to keep business focused on business. Different teachers, same lesson, when you’re the only woman talking business in a room full of men, keep them on task, don’t back down, and play them the best you can.

It seemed the plan she’d made with Mako was working out so far. Nem’ro was impressed enough with what she’d done to at least talk with her. “You want sponsorship into the Great Hunt. I can provide that. But why should I?” She’d expected this. Even taking down Vex and cleaning the streets and her rep from Nar Shad wouldn’t be enough for a Hutt. However embellished the tale Mako had spun was. And apparently, she’d spun enough of a tale that the Hutt either didn’t believe her or he just wanted to get more of what he wanted from Nat, or both. “Mako says that you are a famous bounty hunter- that hardened men run and hide just hearing your name. But Mako says lots of things.” Well that at least wasn’t a lie. She hadn’t had time to look up the rep that Mako had planted for her. But plenty on Nar Shad ran from her. She had clout on that rock, sending her after a target usually meant drop the news she was after someone and wait for them to come running to the spaceport, trying to get out fast as they could. Here, though, and on other planets, she wasn’t really all that well known.

It also didn’t escape her notice that Nem’ro had called Mako a liar, that wasn’t ok. She may not know the girl yet, but her gut said Mako wasn’t the type to lie to her and she needed to protect her people’s rep if anyone was ever going to take her seriously again. She narrowed her eyes and stared him down. “Mako said you’re a powerful Hutt, Nem’ro. Was that a lie?” Fastest way to push a Hutt’s buttons and put them on the defensive to prove themselves, question their power. 

Nem’ro didn’t seem too offended, at least not enough to try and kill her right then. Instead he seemed just the right level of irritated, the more irritated he got, the stupider and easier to manipulate he’d be. “A good liar always sprinkles some truth among the lies.” Hah! A Hutt would know. “You want to prove that you are this fearsome manhunter? I will give you that chance?” Alright, things proceeding, just has to hold her temper in check against these idiots a bit longer. Nem’ro had people he wanted eliminated. Expected. She was a bounty hunter, he was placing very specific bounties. She may not like Hutts, and tried to be a bit more than just a hired killer; But that was what she was and these were the jobs that needed doing. So she would do them. 

Nem’ro didn’t tell her exactly how many targets he had for her, she just hoped that it wouldn’t take too long. The first target was some local who’d killed another Hutt and was leading a revolt against the Hutts. Couldn’t say she disapproved, but the job was what it was, and she was who she was. “If there’s money in it, I’ll take any target.” She responded to his challenge on her professionalism. Credits were credits and in this galaxy, they seemed to be all you could count on. 

She headed out and paused in the Cantina, pulling out her datapad as she took a moment to watch the band. She started typing out a message. She hadn’t spoken to her sister in a minute. She’d sent a quick message saying she had received a message about a job and was leaving but hadn’t given many details. They didn’t talk as much as they should but the quick messages made sure they had a vague idea of what the other was up to most of the time. Flip had some weapons delivery for some middle man, which wouldn’t have been a problem except that it was on that backwater dustball they’d been born on and hated. ‘ _ Hey Flip, hope that delivery went well. Braden’s dead. I’m working with his kid now, slicer named Mako, seems smart. Got to schmooze a Hutt to get my force-damned sponsorship to the Great Hunt. Also I’m competing in the Great Hunt. That was Braden’s job offer. Chat later, got killing to do ~ Viper.’  _ Kaels always thought the early teen gang names that she used in their messages were a bit silly, but she loved them. They were theirs and they kept them connected. Also disguised their messages a bit in case they were intercepted, and also served as a reminder of where they’d been and how far they’d come to get where they were. It was motivation. 

She sent her message and started to head out, quickly getting flagged down by a few of Nem’ro’s people on her way out. She picked up an extra job and agreed to help another one of Nem’ros people. The Evocii had gotten a raw deal. She felt sorry for them, Hutts were the worst and they were stuck with them, the galaxy didn’t seem like it was going to be helping them out any time soon. A bit of kindness that mostly involved getting in some assholes face, that she could do. 

Apparently, word spread fast, because by the time she reached the work camp, people seemed to know who she was. All she had to do was look at the enforcers and they were shaking in their boots; promising that they weren’t going to make her come back out and deal with them. She had to admit, if only to herself, that it was nice to have some power, even if it did come from fear. Leaning in she made sure to speak clearly “If I have to come out here again, it will be the last time.” If they could look more terrified, that did it. Enforcers dealt with. Job done. Now to the main reason she was in this part of the pit of a planet.

She hurried through the work camp and into the village. This was not a job she enjoyed. “Hutts are fat, thieving slugs, no doubt about that” She’d told Huttsbane. She agreed to their plan to lie to the Hutt. She’d probably live to regret this decision. 

Her holo chimed almost as soon as she stepped out of the village. Mako was calling with news. She had to admit, she’d been a bit worried about the girl. Losing family wasn’t an easy thing. She wasn’t sure how much Mako had lost, but it’d only been a few hours since she’d lost Braden. If Nat was still feeling the sting, then Mako had to be hurting a whole lot more. Holo calls weren’t great for getting a read on someone. “How are you holding up, Mako?” 

There was a sigh “Better now that I have a lead.” That would have to do. She’d give Mako some time to break down later, but for now they had to work. She’d verified that their target was Tarro Blood. That was good, no mixups, but going against a Mandalorian meant going up against many Mandalorians. It was one of the more appealing parts of what she knew of them, but it would make taking out Tarro Blood all the harder. Usually she loved the challenge, but Tarro wasn’t a challenge, it was vengeance, payback for the lives of her friends, balancing the scales. But of course, for Tarro, those lives were just another price for the Great Hunt. 

Nat was a bit surprised that Mandos were letting him buy them out of competing though. It didn’t seem in character for them, but it did seem in character for him, total slime. “ A coward and a cheat. This scum dies.” What kind of self-respecting hunter cheated their way through? Seriously, have some professionalism. Her chance to get close enough to kill the coward was the Great Hunt and as Mako reminded her, that meant impressing Nem’ro. 

Then Mako said something that caught her attention. “Saying goodbye to Braden and Jory… I caught someone following me. He was dressed like some offworld tribesman. Tall. Wore a white bone mask, like a death’s head.” 

Tall, bone mask, possibly a Kaleesh, didn’t matter, she was fond of Mako, even with as little time as she’d known her. No one would mess with the kid as long as she had anything to say about it. “I’ll put him on my ‘to kill’ list”

That actually got a laugh from her, just a chuckle, but it’d do. “You are so fantastically simple sometimes. Anyways, eyes open. Go show that Hutt who’s the best bounty hunter in the galaxy.” 

That, that was why she liked the girl. The simple belief in her, the certainty that she could accomplish anything. She hadn’t had that kind of faith from many people. Even her mentors had  made her prove herself over and over again. Savri had even taken time to warm up to her and trust her skills. The only other person who had that certainty, well besides Mako, had been Kael. How optimistic the girl was after everything was suprising too. She could get along with someone like that. 

“Stay safe, See ya soonish.” She tucked the comm away and headed back to Jiguna. She really missed Kael some days, and Savri. Maybe she should call him. With her team gone, she’d need replacements, not for the people, that’d be impossible, but the job still needed doing. She hadn’t talked to him in too long, but she was sure he’d agree to help. Nat was focused, and determined to win the whole thing and Savri’s skills would help. She’d write him soon. Just had to deal with this stupid planet and the kriffing Hutt. 

Nem’ro was just as irritating as ever when she made her way back to his throne room. Booming out through the whole room “My little bounty hunter returns!” She might be shorter than him, but she really hated the condescending way he spoke to her. Soon, soon she’d kill him. She dropped the bag on the floor and waited for his response. Head on floor, Job done. He went on to explain the next job he needed done. In true Hutt fashion, he was sending her after a former employee and tormenting the mans wife. She needed the credits and the sponsorship, even if it meant doing a few unpleasant jobs. As soon as he was done listening to his own voice, she left, stopping by the young Twi’lek woman she’d noticed at the desk. Juda handled paying mercenaries and bounty hunters, or at least paying her. The girl seemed surprisingly sweet for Hutta. “Working women have to stick together.” It made Nat smile as she left. They weren’t in the same league. Juda had to play politics and make friends to get respect to work unharassed around here. Nat could just shoot anyone who bothered her too much, or almost anyone, but she’d been nice and it’d been a hard day. She’d look out for her while she was here. 

As Nat stepped outside the palace, the sun was already pretty low in the sky. It would be dark by the time she could make her way out to the rust yards near the factory her target was in. Which meant that the target had already gone home for the night. She could track him there, or stake out the factory, but that wouldn’t be necessary, accountants had strict schedules. She’d just head out early in the morning and catch him right after he started work. Easy enough and better not to head through a strange planet at night. She didn’t want to miss him or send him running because she got spotted by someone who knew the area better. She sighed and shifted with the flamethrower on her arm. She really needed a new one. This one did not fit at all. She’d spent most of her credits and most of Kaels credits getting them a place in Nar Shaddaa. It’d taken years of saving almost everything, even with the higher paying jobs she’d been taking there, but they wanted a place to come back to, a place they could call theirs, so they’d found one and as soon as it was for sale and they had the credits, they’d cleaned their accounts to get it and what little she had left had bought her shuttle pass here. 

She shifted it one more time as she crossed the tiny, stinking pit of a town back to the Cantina. If she knew Braden, he wouldn’t have secured just the room they’d been working out of, but probably a few rooms to sleep in as well. She walked into the room and heard soft sobbing from somewhere in the back. As she moved through the room, she glanced away from the bloodstains on the rug. They still filled her with rage, she’d kill the coward, that disgusting piece of bantha shit, if it cost her her own. He would pay for what he’d done. Just as she’d guessed Mako was curled up on the floor of one of the small side rooms with 2 small beds, a jacket clutched to her chest, seemingly trying desperately to stay quiet and stop crying. Nat sighed, of course the girl was crying. At least, she’d waited until the days work was done to break down. Luckily for her, she had experience with crying, Kael and her had their share of breakdown those first few years in the camp. She set her flamethrower a chair and moved over to sit next to Mako. Pulling out her blaster and putting it down next to her, easily within reach if needed. Leaning back against the bed she put her arm around Mako and pulled her in, just like she used to do for Kael when it’d been a bad day or a worse night. 

The poor girl stiffened for a moment, probably from surprise, because she relaxed fairly quickly and turned into Nat’s shoulder as she kept crying. Nat didn’t say anything, what could she say? She’d already promised to avenge Braden and that was all she could do. She just held Mako and let her cry. At least, the kid wasn’t completely alone, taking care of Mako, that was something else she could do for her friend. She could avenge him and she could make sure that his daughter was protected. She should also probably stop thinking of Mako as a kid, she was at least close to Nats age and they’d work better together if there was a level of acknowledgement of that fact, but that could wait ‘til morning. After a few minutes, the sobs lessened and Mako seemed to have exhausted herself, there were sniffles, but the crying was over. 

She gently moved her and groaned a bit as she stood. Too much running in this damned heat had left her tired and sore. She reached down and pulled Mako off the floor and gently pushed her onto the bed. “Stay, rest. I’ll be back.” She left and headed back to the main room, stopping by a stack of rations and grabbing two and heading back. She just didn’t feel up to dealing with anymore of Nem’ros goons tonight. She wanted to shoot all of them and so it’d be better to keep her distance, at least until she’d accomplished her jobs here and didn’t need Nem’ro anymore. She walked over to Mako and shook her awake, handing her one of the rations “Eat, then sleep, there’s lots to do tomorrow.” 

Mako glanced at the food and then at her, “Thanks, but I can’t eat.”

Nat sighed, she’d seen this before, the emptiness. “Yes you can, you just don’t feel like you can. Force it down somehow, you’ll feel better and you’ll need the energy. I’m going to shower and get what stink i can off me. There’s an extra blaster under your pillow just in case.” She should really work on her comforting skills, that was something people were supposed to be good at, right? Honestly though, she’d never been great at it, not even with Kael. But it just felt weirder with Mako, probably because they still didn’t know each other very well. They just got thrown together. She hurried through her shower not wanting to be away from her guns too long. Just because the rules said that Tarro Blood couldn’t kill her himself didn’t mean that he wouldn’t try something underhanded as soon as he found out she hadn’t dropped everything and quit. She didn’t want to be caught in the shower when the other shoe dropped. 

She wasn’t gone more than a few minutes, but Mako was asleep by the time she got back. Fresh tears still on her cheeks. She sighed, this was why she didn’t keep many people around. Crying just made her uncomfortable, and the more people around, the more people died and most people had no ability to deal with that. Not that she was great at it, but still. She stepped over and set a water bottle by the bed and pulled the blanket over her. She needed Mako in top form, or at least as close as she could get, a bit of care would help with that. She carefully placed her armor in a neat stack near the other bed, ready to go in the morning, or if something happened in the night. She tucked her blasters near, easily reached, but not likely to be disturbed enough to go off in her sleep. Staring up at the ceiling, she let herself finally start to process the day and just feel as she slowly started to drift. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. any feedback is appreciated

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is appreciated. Thanks for reading. comments and kudos feed the muse


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